Anchor bolt spacer

ABSTRACT

The anchor bolt spacer of the present invention includes a central panel that has an end and a side. An end panel is connected with the central panel at the central panel&#39;s end. The end panel includes an outer edge opposite the central panel. An anchor bolt bore is defined through the end panel. A central tab is connected with the central panel along the central panel&#39;s side. Further, an end panel tab is connected with the end panel, opposite the end panel&#39;s outer edge. When formed, the central tab and the end panel tab are arranged to extend into the concrete foundation to rigidly hold the anchor bolt spacer in position. As such, when formed, the central tab and the end panel tab lie in substantially perpendicular planes. Additionally, the present invention is especially useful as it provides supplemental reinforcement to help drag shear loading from an anchor bolt into the concrete where short end distances are required.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to construction materials and, more specifically, to structures designed to maintain the alignment and position of anchor bolts within a foundation during the pouring and curing of concrete and that will also function as a supplemental reinforcement to transfer loading from the anchor bolts into concrete.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A common problem faced in both residential and commercial construction is maintaining proper alignment and spacing of anchor bolts during the pouring and curing of concrete foundations. This alignment and spacing problem is especially problematic when the edge distance between the anchor bolt and edge of the concrete foundation is relatively small. As such, maintaining proper alignment and spacing of anchor bolts is important for a variety of reasons. Anchor bolts that inadvertently move may end up too close to the concrete's outer wall and thus be prone to “breaking out” of the concrete foundation at a later time. Any such “breaking out” may adversely affect the foundation's integrity. Further, misaligned anchor bolts create costly construction delays as the wall structures intended to attach to the anchor bolts must be reconfigured or modified to accept the misaligned anchor bolts. Still further, the current practice of tying anchor bolts together with rebar or other structural steel members is timely and inconsistent. As such, there is a need to provide a low cost method of maintaining the proper position of an anchor bolt during the pouring and curing of concrete structures that is cost effective and easy to use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is an anchor bolt spacer that is cost efficient and overcomes the problems of anchor bolts shifting alignment or position during the curing and finishing of concrete. Further the present invention includes a system that provides a properly positioned bearing surface for a shear panel. Additionally, the present invention provides supplemental reinforcement to help transfer loading, such as shear, from an anchor bolt into the concrete, especially, where short end distances are required.

The anchor bolt spacer of the present invention includes a central panel that has an end and a side. An end panel is connected with the central panel at the central panel's end. The end panel includes an outer edge opposite the central panel. An anchor bolt bore is defined through the end panel. A central tab is connected with the central panel along the central panel's side. Further, an end panel tab is connected with the end panel, opposite the end panel's outer edge. When formed, the central tab and the end panel tab are arranged to extend into the concrete foundation to rigidly hold the anchor bolt spacer in position. As such, when formed, the central tab and the end panel tab lie in substantially perpendicular planes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the following drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an aspect of an anchor bolt spacer according to an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of another aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an aspect of an anchor bolt spacer according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a front view of an aspect of an anchor bolt spacer according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a side view of another aspect of the present invention; and,

FIG. 6, is a exploded front view of another aspect of the present invention in use with a shear panel; and,

FIG. 7, is a exploded perspective view of yet another aspect of the present invention as depicted in FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a system for maintaining the proper alignment of an anchor bolt within a concrete form during the curing and finishing of concrete. Additionally, the present invention provides a properly positioned bearing surface for an attached structure such as a shear panel. Still further, the present invention provides supplemental reinforcement to help transfer loading from an anchor bolt into concrete. By way of overview and with reference to FIGS. 1-6, an aspect of the present invention includes an anchor bolt spacer 20 having a central panel 30 with ends and sides. End panels 22 are generally disposed on opposite ends of the anchor central panel 30. The sides of the central panel 30 are configured to foldably form central panel tabs 28. The end panel 22 is generally configured to accept an anchor bolt 42, such as those typically used in either commercial or residential construction, through a defined anchor bolt bore 24. End panels 22 are generally disposed on opposite ends of the central panel 30. The end panels 22 also include end panel tabs 26. Specific details of the anchor bolt spacer 20 are described with more particularity below.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate the anchor bolt spacer 20 is suitably constructed from any variety of materials. Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that material choice will be largely dependent upon the material meeting certain mechanical and formability characteristics. Generally, the material should be a rigid to semi rigid material of medium to high strength and impact resistance. Additionally, the material should be relatively easy and inexpensive to form. Those skilled in the art may choose to use other materials meeting these general guidelines without exceeding the spirit and scope of this invention. In the present inventions, one method of forming the anchor bolt spacer 20 is to stamp the anchor bolt spacer 20 from a sheet of material. To that end the anchor bolt spacer 20 constructed from a ferrous metal is considered within the scope of this invention. Suitable, non-limiting examples of other such materials include aluminum, tin, nonferrous metal alloys and metal alloys. Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that other forming processes may be use to form the anchor bolt spacer 20, and as such other materials may be used without exceeding the scope of this invention.

With specific reference to FIG. 1, the central panel 30 is generally considered the part of the anchor bolt spacer 20 that forms the primary axis of the anchor bolt spacer 20 and extends between the end panels 22. The central panel 30 is generally rectangular in shape and has disposed along its longitudinal sides central panel tabs 28. The central panel tabs 28 are foldably coupled with the central panel 30 along fold line 34 such that when the anchor bolt spacer 20 is fully formed, the central panel 30 and central panel tabs 28 are substantially perpendicular to one another.

Disposed upon opposite ends of the central panel 30 are the end panels 22. The end panels 22 include end panel tabs 26 that are foldably coupled with the end panels 22 along fold line 35 such that when the anchor bolt spacer 20 is fully formed, the end panels 30 and the end panel tabs 28 are substantially perpendicular to one another. Additionally, when fully formed the end panel tabs 28 and the central panel tabs 28 also lie in perpendicular planes relative to one another. This feature allows the anchor bolt spacer 20 to have a more positive engagement with the concrete (not shown) and be resistant to movement in a multi-axis direction.

Each of the end panels 22 include an anchor bolt bore 24 extending therethrough. The anchor bolt bore 24 is spaced an end space distance 36 from the terminal end of the end panel 22 and is spaced a side space distance 37 from the terminal side of the end panel 22. In one aspect of the present invention, the end space distance 36 and/or the side space distance 37 are set as the minimal edge distance that an anchor bolt 42 may be from an edge of a concrete form, as specified by building code such as those provided by the American Concrete Institute. The requirements of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein. Those skilled in that art will appreciate that the end space distance 36 and the side space distance 37 may be driven by a variety of other factors as well. As such, the specifics of such spacing are not discussed in detail herein as their understanding is well within that of a person of ordinary skill in the art.

The anchor bolt spacer 20 may also include an indicia (not shown) on its surface that relates the overall strength, size, end space distance 36 and the side space distance 37, anchor bolt spacing 38 or the like. In this manner, a contractor or inspector could tell at a glance the relative spacing of the anchor bolt 42 spacing and/or a edge/end space distance.

The anchor bolt spacer 20 also includes at least one aperture 32 defined through its various panels and tabs. The primary function of the apertures 32 is to allow the concrete to better adhere to the anchor bolt spacer 20. As best depicted in FIG. 1, the apertures 32 are shown only located on the central panel 30 and the central panel tabs 28. However, it is within the scope of this invention to have apertures 32 through any of the various panels or tabs that make up the anchor bolt spacer 20. Additionally, the shape of the apertures 32 is depicted in the FIGURES as being generally rectangular with rounded corners. The geometry of the apertures 32 is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The apertures may be any geometric shape and there may be several different shaped apertures 32 within a single anchor bolt spacer 20 (not shown). Likewise, the number and spacing of the apertures on the various panels and tabs in not intended to limit the scope of this invention.

FIGS. 2-7 depict an aspect of the present invention in operation. For simplicity purposes only, the concrete is not shown in the FIGURES. The use of the anchor bolt spacer 20 relative to support structure 40, such as a concrete form, is depicted. Additionally, the use of the anchor bolt spacer 20 with additional structure such as a shear panel 46 is also depicted. As best seen in FIGS. 6 and 7, the overall geometry of the anchor bolt spacer may be controlled to correspond with the geometry of the attachment structure's (shear panel or the like) contact surface.

Generally, after the concrete form is poured and prior to the concrete fully setting, the anchor bolt spacer 20 is placed over the respective anchor bolts 42 and pressed into the concrete to bring the central panel 28 level with the top of the concrete. The anchor bolt spacer 20 is then typically brought into contact with the support structure 40 to properly position the anchor bolts 42 relative to the concrete foundation. The concrete is subsequently allowed to cure, at which time the anchor bolt spacer 20 becomes a permanent part of the concrete foundation.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate an aspect of the anchor bolt spacer 20 is that it will function as a supplemental reinforcement element. Specifically, the association between the anchor bolt 42 and the anchor bolt spacer 20 is such that some of the shear loading carried by the anchor bolt 42 will be transmitted into the anchor bolt spacer 20 is a substantially rigid connection, so forces from one is easily transferred to the other. Additionally, the interaction of the concrete with the various panels, tabs and apertures provide an additional vehicle to transfer forces (loading such as shear) from the anchor bolt 42 into the concrete (not shown).

The anchor bolt spacer 20 may be used singly, or in combination with an anchor bolt holder (not shown). A suitable anchor bolt holder is described in a co-filed patent application entitled “ANCHOR BOLT HOLDER” with attorney docket number 25602, the teachings of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

The advantages of the present invention will be readily discernable by those skilled in the art. To point out just a few advantages, the anchor bolt spacer 20 makes positioning the anchor bolts relative to the concrete foundation a simple matter. Additionally, the anchor bolt spacer provides a simple, yet reliable bearing surface for a shear panel 46 or other structure. Specifically, no concrete finishing work is required in prior to placing the shear panel 46. Still further, a building inspector may easily visually determine whether the anchor bolts 42 are within “code” with respect to proper spacing between anchor bolts 42 and from an anchor bolt 42 to the edge of the concrete foundation. Further, overall construction speed and accuracy will be increased. Additionally, the anchor bolt spacer 20 assists in the transfer of loading from the anchor bolt 42 into the concrete. Also, other advantages will be readily discernable to those skilled in the art.

While an embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, as noted above, many changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is not limited by the disclosure of the discussed embodiment. Instead, the invention should be determined entirely by reference to the claims that follow. 

1. A single sheet of material cut and scored to form an anchor bolt spacer, comprising: a central panel having an end and a side; an end panel connected with the central panel at the end, said end panel having an outer edge opposite the central panel, said end panel further including an anchor bolt bore; a central tab connected with the central panel at the side, the central tab being substantially perpendicular to the central panel; and, an end panel tab connected with said end panel, the end panel tab being substantially perpendicular to the end panel.
 2. The anchor bolt spacer of claim 1, wherein the material is at least one of a ferrous metal, aluminum, ferrous metal alloy, nonferrous metal alloy or tin.
 3. The anchor bolt spacer of claim 1, wherein the central panel further includes an aperture.
 4. The anchor bolt spacer of claim 1, wherein the central panel tab further includes an aperture. 